99 Lives

– a public effort to discover cat genetic variation and to improve feline & human health!

Cat whole genome sequencing project is now 1/3 the price due to a technology change. Click here for more information!

We are already half way to reaching our goal of sequencing 99 cats! Click here to see our successfully sequenced feline friends and click here to read the science behind 99Lives! Remember, wild and exotic cats are welcome in this project too!In fact, the Pallas Cat and Black-Footed cat have already been sequenced for this project!

State of the art health care now includes genome sequencing of the DNA from all the chromosomes in the body. Cats should have the same health care opportunities as any other species! DNA sequencing allows the identification of all the variation that makes a cat different from any other species and each cat unique in the world. For many individual birth defects or inherited conditions that affect health later in life, responsible DNA variations can now be identified in any individual cat! Tens of thousands of humans have had full genome sequencing for their health care, hundreds of dogs, but only one cat – Cinnamon, an Abyssinian from the University of Missouri! Help make genome sequencing the standard of health care for cats!

This project proposes to sequence 99 cats to support health care for the normal household cat and our fancy cat breeds too. Many cats suffer from obesity, diabetes, asthma, urinary tract infections, cancers, heart disease and infectious diseases, just like humans. Deciphering the genetic causes for these conditions requires a database that describes all the NORMAL DNA variation in cats as well as the bad mutations! Help us find the good and bad genetics of one of our favorite feline companions!

Maverix Biomics (http://www.maverixbio.com/) supports the project by performing the data analysis. This cool t-shirt is provided to donors and only the scientists involved with the 99 Lives Cat Genome Project!

The Drs. Hart are the premiere animal behaviorists from the University of California – Davis. Their studies on cat breeds, which included work with the Lyons laboratory, are summarized in the 147 page volume on cat breeds. The first 10 donations will get a personalized, autographed copy!

Need to learn some genetics? Get the book that has been used by Dr. Lyons and other veterinary schools to teach genetics to veterinarians and the wise cat breeder! The first 10 donations will get a personalized, autographed copy!

Need some more advanced cat medicine knowledge? This 1398 page volume is a collection of chapters from specialists in the field of feline medicine and is one of the definitive books in veterinary medicine. Every cat specialist should have one! The first 10 donations will get a personalized, autographed copy!

$7000: DNA sequencing of a cat you select!

Let’s find the variants in your favorite cat. Healthy or not, your cat will greatly help our project. We will report back to you all the disease and trait variants known in the cat. This will include coat colors, fur types and your cat’s ancestry.

– We challenge USA veterinary schools plus veterinary & agricultural schools worldwide to sponsor one cat! – We challenge cat registries worldwide to sponsor their top male & female cats of the year! – We challenge cat breeders to sponsor one male & female cat of every breed! – We challenge pet food companies to sponsor their cats used in advertisements!– We challenge the public to sponsor their cat and support the health of all felines!

Which cats will be participating?

Absolutely any cat can participate in this project – we just need to raise the funds! Veterinarians and cat owners – help us find cats with interesting health problems too! Remember, wild and exotic cats are welcome in this project too!In fact, the Pallas cat and Black-Footed cat have already been sequenced for this project!

Who is leading the project?-The project has developed as collaboration between the University of Missouri and UC Davis but is extended to all researchers interested in feline health care. The Feline Genetics Laboratory of Leslie Lyons, PhD, at the University of Missouri is coordinating the project. For details – please e-mail: felinegenome@missouri.edu or call 01 573 884 2287